


Carmilla meta

by FanfictionDeLaFinlande



Category: Carmilla - J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Genre: F/F, Lesbian Character, OR IS IT, References to Incest, Romantic Friendship, Vampire folklore, or is she
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 14:57:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/850859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanfictionDeLaFinlande/pseuds/FanfictionDeLaFinlande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My musings about Carmilla. Second attempt at meta. Includes spoilers if you have not read the story yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carmilla meta

_"Love will have its sacrifices. No sacrifice without blood."_

_"You will think me cruel, very selfish, but love is always selfish; the more ardent the more selfish. How jealous I am you cannot know. You must come with me, loving me, to death; or else hate me and still come with me, and _hating_ me through death and after. There is no such word as indifference in my apathetic nature."_

_Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu_

Above quotes belong to Carmilla Karnstein, gorgeous vampire Countess with  tendency to choose young girls as her victims.  Romantic friendship, non-sexual love between friends, was perfectly accepted until medicalization of homosexuality in late 19th century. However, Carmilla´s wonderfully (but worrisomely) obsessive and possessive declarations of love bother narrator Laura. According to her own words, she is both fascinated by Carmilla and hates this side of her behavior. Laura´s description of Carmilla´s nightly visitations, kisses and caresses, is full of creepy sensuality, so is her description of Carmilla´s daytime gloating, when Laura is wasting away. Near the end of the story Laura tells how the vampire is prone to be fascinated with some victims and this fascination _resembles_ love. Carmilla herself claims that love _is_ always selfish. Is Carmilla smitten and hoping to make Laura as her vampire companion, justifying it as love? Or is she trying to excuse her murderous decadence, knowing that Laura will die ?

LeFanu uses the folklore vampire in the basis of his vampire mythology, commenting how paleness associated with vampires is not true  - Carmilla´s skin is descibed as rich and brilliant, contrasting Laura´s increasing paleness  - and how Carmilla´s body shows all marks of life; she breathes, her skin is warm, her heart is beating etc.  When she is found in her grave she look fresh and there´s not any stench; she is killed by staking and decapitation, and the remains are burnt.  However, the idea of a vampire being fascinated with certain victims may be nod to the idea that the folklore vampires choose their first victims among their own family, including spouse.  (Sometimes the vampires had sex with the spouse and the child who was born from this union was destined to become a vampire hunter called dhampir).) Laura is descendant of Karnsteins. Is Carmilla´s interest toward Laura some kind of incestuous desire?  Incest was one of the folkloric reasons why people became vampires, although LeFanu mentions only suicide. 


End file.
